Dental restorations are single or multiple units, such as crowns, jackets, inlays, bridges, formed of many types of materials, and used in dentistry to restore teeth. These materials may include, for example, gold; gold and porcelain; semi-precious and other metals by themselves, or combined with porcelain; resin or plastic.
Dental restorations are firmly bonded to natural teeth or their roots by a cementing medium. It is well known that the removal of a cemented dental restoration may be necessary upon the occurrence of dental decay, or in order to examine the vitality and pulpal involvement of a prepared tooth, or for other reasons. In the prior art, the removal of firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented dental restorations, such as bridges or crowns, was achieved by the application of a mechanical grasping means to the restoration followed by the application of a direct or leverage force in a direction to break the cement bond. In the prior art, for example, dental restorations have been removed by means of clamps, reverse mallets, hammer and chisels, or by drilling a hole and using a screw post in the resotration, and combination of claws, jaws and screws, all of which serve to distort the restoration by bending its margins, or by destroying the integrity of the restoration by a hole, or by torquing action which often results in tooth fracture.
The present invention provides an improved method for removing all types of firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented dental restorations and dental appliances, utilizing a malleable substance composed of any combination of materials, natural or artificial, which together create a substance with such adhesive qualities when compressed under pressure between two surfaces as to form a strong temporary bond between the surface of the restoration or appliance being removed and the opposing tooth or teeth when compressed between the surfaces with at least 25 pounds pressure compressing the substance to 50-75% of its bulk.
The substance when placed in contact and compressed on the surface of the restoration or appliance with sufficient force forms a temporary adhesive level sufficient to remove the restoration or appliance, firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented, from the tooth or teeth, when a forceful reverse pressure is applied by the muscular force of the patient in opening their jaws in a rapid, forceful jerking movement, or by a combination of muscular force of the patient and added external forces, or by external forces only, all directed in a direction parallel with the long axis of the tooth, and in the reverse direction to that which the restoration or appliance was initially placed on or in the tooth. The technique of using such a substance allows for convenient single or multiple firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented restoration or appliance removal for any reason deemed necessary.
The method and means of the invention has an advantage over all other methods and means presently available for the removal of firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented dental restorations and appliances in that:
1. A strong temporary adhesive bond with the surface of the restoration or appliance to be removed is used, and there is no requirement for drilling a hole, cutting a groove or notch, or mechanically clamping to the sides or margins of the restorations, or using any tool as is the case in the prior art, all of which in one way or another either deform, distort or destroy the integrity of the restoration and which can create severe tooth, periodontal and patient trauma.
2. The substance forming the strong temporary adhesive bond can be easily removed from the surface of the restoration or appliance and opposing tooth or teeth after the removal of the restoration or appliance has been effectuated, with no adverse affect on the surface of the restoration or opposing tooth or teeth, leaving the surface of the restoration, the opposing tooth or teeth, and the restoration itself in the same condition as it was before the removal of the restoration was initiated.
3. The force used in the method of the invention in the removal of the firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented restorations or appliances is the muscular force of the jaws of the patient in an opening and closing direction, the jaws closing with sufficient pressure to compress the substance to approximately two-thirds of its bulk, and opening with a rapid and forceful jerking movement.
4. The restoration-removal substance aided by a mechanical device, or by a skeletal muscular force only, is the only means available for safely removing a firmly affixed, binding, stuck or locked-in coping post from an endodentically treated tooth, since any angular force applied could fracture the tooth's root.
The substance described above, which is used to remove firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented restorations and appliances in accordance with the teaching of the present invention, may be composed of any combination of materials, natural or artificial, vegetable, animal, mineral, or chemical elements which create a substance, which when placed in contact, and compress under sufficient pressure against the surface of the restoration or appliance to be removed, at a temperature range tolerable in the oral cavity, forms a strong temporary adhesive bond with the surface of the firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented restoration sufficient to cause its removal when sufficient specific directional muscular or other force is applied in the reverse direction to that in which the restoration was initially seated.
The malleable substance may be formed, for example, to have the property that when the compressive force is stopped, the substance attempts to return to its original shape and size creating its strong, temporary adhesive properties capable of, when reverse force is applied, removing all types of dental restorations that are binding, stuck, firmly affixed, locked in place or cemented. The substance may have the following composition:
______________________________________ Sugar 20 pounds Glucose 20 pounds Water 5 pounds Natural gum 44 pounds Water 41/2 gallons Gelatin 3 pounds Glycerin Trace ______________________________________
Any one or more of the aforesaid elements may be eliminated, or others may be added, to create the desired malleable substance or compound with sufficient adhesive properties to achieve the desired results. The substance can be formed into any shape or size desired. The substance shape does not provide for any means of mechanical grasping or attachment to a tool. The substance adhesive properties are created by the substance formulation and its properties developed under compression.
The process of the invention may be used for the removal of all types of restorations and appliances that are firmly affixed, binding, or stuck at the time of fitting to determine whether marginal fit and occlusion are correct. The aforesaid substance permits the withdrawal of the firmly affixed, binding, or stuck restoration in the exact reverse direction to that in which the restoration was originally placed on or in the tooth, thereby reducing marginal distortion of the restoration to a minimum, and preventing fracture of the restoration when it is formed of porcelain or acrylic. Also, the substance permits the removal of temporary crowns and bridges, cemented to the tooth or teeth while the permanent crowns or bridges are being fabricated, enables salvage of the temporary crown or bridge so that it can be re-used and re-cemented while the laboratory work is being completed. Such withdrawals or removals are accomplished without the use of ancillary fixtures or tools, and only by the jaw actions of the patient and the force created thereby.
Removal of the firmly affixed, binding, stuck or cemented restorations or appliances can be accomplished by the process of the invention with minimal chance of tooth fracture. The process, moreover, enables the crown or bridge restoration to be salvaged and to be re-cemented when the problem causing its removal is corrected, so long as the recurrent decay or reason for removal of the cemented restoration has not destroyed the integrity of tooth preparation to re-receive the salvaged restoration. This is in contradistinction to the prior art methods and devices which distort or destroy the restoration.